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Kopanev A. Symbiosis of the Image of Russians and Asian Nomads in Video Games: Possibility of Historical Parallels

Aleksandr Kopanev
Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera) of the RAS
Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation
ORCID: 0000-0002-3385-9677
E-mail: aleksandrkopanev90@yandex.ru

 

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ABSTRACT. Video games can be characterised as the fastest growing sphere of mass culture, closely connected with the information age and the development of computer technologies. With all the diversity of forms and variations, video games most often fall under the category of works of art containing various images, including national and ethnic ones. Similar to other spheres of culture, the authors of video games: artists, scriptwriters, programmers, composers, actors, etc. project their accumulated experience, imagination and worldview onto the final product, processing, transforming or creating new ethnic stereotypes. Thus, the analysis of specific video games cannot do without historical parallels and the search for a common denominator. The symbiosis of the image of Russian and Asian nomads has always been an important topic in the context of worldview based on the principle of opposition of East and West, often becoming not only an object of study, but also an instrument of political speculation and ideological struggle. Video games are no exception, continuing to advance this concept, disseminating it through the form of an interactive work located in the realm of cyberspace. The article will examine video games of various genres, released at different times and aimed at different audiences. Given the specifics of video games, elements of symbiosis of Russians and nomads can be seen both in the plot, visual style, and in the balance of game mechanics, all sorts of subtleties of gameplay.The most important objective of this article is an attempt to identify the main points of contact between established stereotypes with a centuries-old history and video games, in which one can find a similar representation of the image of Russians and Asian nomads.

 

KEYWORDS: video games, ethnicity, stereotypes, image of Russians, nomads

 

FOR CITATION: Kopanev A. Symbiosis of the Image of Russians and Asian Nomads in Video Games: Possibility of Historical Parallels. Kunstkamera. 2025. 2 (28): 148–156. (In Russian). DOI: 10.31250/2618-8619-2025-2(28)-148-156

 

DOI 10.31250/2618-8619-2025-2(28)-148-156
UDC 004.94+316.648:39

 

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